§22-15A-18. Establishment of county recycling programs for solid
waste; petition for referendum; ballot contents;
election procedure; effect of such election.
(a) On or before the eighteenth day of October, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-two, each municipality described in subsection
(b) of this section shall submit a proposal to the Solid Waste
Management Board, consistent with the provisions of this section,
describing the establishment and implementation of the mandatory
recycling program. The Solid Waste Management Board shall review
the submitted plans for consistency with the criteria provided in
this section, the county or regional solid waste management plan
and the statewide management plan. The Solid Waste Management
Board may make suggested changes to the plan and shall provide
technical assistance to the municipalities in the development of
the plans.

(b) On or before the eighteenth day of October, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-three, each municipality with a population of
ten thousand or more people, as determined by the most recent
decennial census by the Bureau of the Census of the United States
Department of Commerce, shall establish and commence implementation
of a source separation and curbside collection program for
recyclable materials. Implementation shall be phased in by the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five. Such
program shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) An ordinance adopted by the governing body of the municipality requiring that each person, partnership, corporation
or other entity in the municipality shall separate at least three
recyclable materials, as deemed appropriate by the municipality,
from other solid waste: Provided, That the list of recyclables to
be separated may be adjusted according to whether the generator is
residential, commercial or other type of establishment.

(2) A scheduled day, at least one per month, during which
separated materials are to be placed at the curbside, or similar
location, for collection.

(3) A system that collects recyclable materials from the
curbside, or similar location, at least once per month: Provided,
That to encourage full participation, the program shall, to the
maximum extent possible, provide for the collection of recyclables
at the same rate of frequency, and simultaneous with, the regular
collection of solid waste.

(4) Provisions to ensure compliance with the ordinance,
including incentives and penalties.

(5) A comprehensive public information and education program
covering the importance and benefits of recycling, as well as the
specific features and requirements of the recycling program. As
part of the education program, each municipality shall, at a
minimum, notify all persons occupying residential, commercial,
institutional or other premises within its boundaries of the
requirements of the program, including how the system will operate,
the dates of collection, the responsibilities of persons within the municipality and incentives and penalties.

(6) Consultation with the county or regional solid waste
authority in which the municipality is located to avoid
duplication, ensure coordination of solid waste programs and
maximize the market for recyclables.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, a comprehensive recycling program for solid waste may be
established in any county of this state by action of a county
commission in accordance with the provisions of this section. Such
program shall require:

(1) That, prior to collection at its source, all solid waste
shall be segregated into separate identifiable recyclable materials
by each person, partnership, corporation and governmental agency
subscribing to a solid waste collection service in the county or
transporting solid waste to a commercial solid waste facility in
the county;

(2) Each person engaged in the commercial collection,
transportation, processing or disposal of solid waste within the
county shall accept only solid waste from which recyclable
materials in accordance with the county's comprehensive recycling
program have been segregated; and

(3) That the provisions of the recycling plan prepared
pursuant to section seventeen of this article shall, to the extent
practicable, be incorporated in the county's comprehensive
recycling program.

(d) For the purposes of this article, recyclable materials
shall include, but not be limited to, steel and bimetallic cans,
aluminum, glass, paper and such other solid waste materials as may
be specified by either the municipality or county commission with
the advice of the county or regional solid waste authority.

(e) A comprehensive recycling program for solid waste may be
established in any county of this state by: (1) A petition filed
with the county commission bearing the signatures of registered
voters of the county equal to not less than five percent of the
number of votes cast within the county for Governor at the
preceding gubernatorial election; and (2) approval by a majority of
the voters in a subsequent referendum on the issue. A referendum
to determine whether it is the will of the voters of a county that
a comprehensive recycling program for solid waste be established in
the county may be held at any regular primary or general election
or in conjunction with any other countywide election. Any election
at which the question of establishing a policy of comprehensive
recycling for solid waste is voted upon shall be held at the voting
precincts established for holding primary or general elections.
All of the provisions of the general election laws, when not in
conflict with the provisions of this article, shall apply to voting
and elections hereunder, insofar as practicable. The Secretary of
State shall prescribe the form of the petition which shall include
the printed name, address and date of birth of each person whose
signature appears on the petition. Upon verification of the required number of signatures on the petition, the county
commission shall, not less than seventy days before the election,
order that the issue be placed on the ballot and referendum held at
the next primary, general or special election to determine whether
it is the will of the voters of the county that a policy of
comprehensive recycling of solid waste be established in the
county: Provided, That the petition bearing the necessary
signatures has been filed with the county commission at least one
hundred days prior to the election.

The ballot, or the ballot labels where voting machines are
used, shall have printed thereon substantially the following:

"Shall the County Commission be required to establish a
comprehensive recycling program for solid waste in __________
County, West Virginia?

? For Recycling

? Against Recycling

(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)"

If a majority of legal votes cast upon the question be for the
establishment of a policy of comprehensive recycling of solid
waste, the county commission shall, after the certification of the
results of the referendum, thereafter adopt an ordinance, within
one hundred eighty days of certification, establishing a
comprehensive recycling program for solid waste in the county:
Provided, That such program shall be implemented and operational no
later than twelve months following certification. If a majority of the legal votes cast upon the question be against the establishment
of a policy of comprehensive recycling of solid waste, the policy
shall not take effect, but the question may again be submitted to
a vote at any subsequent election in the manner herein provided.

(f) A comprehensive recycling program for solid waste
established by petition and referendum may be rescinded only
pursuant to the procedures set out herein to establish the program.

To rescind the program, the ballot, or the ballot labels where
voting machines are used, shall have printed thereon substantially
the following:

"Shall the County Commission be required to terminate the
comprehensive recycling program for solid waste in ___________
County, West Virginia?

? Continue Recycling

? End Recycling

(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)"

(g) If a majority of legal votes cast upon the question be for
the termination of a policy of comprehensive recycling of solid
waste previously established in the county, the county commission
shall, after the certification of the results of the referendum,
thereafter rescind by ordinance the comprehensive recycling program
for solid waste in the county within ninety days of certification.
If a majority of the legal votes cast upon the question be for the
continuation of the policy of comprehensive recycling of solid
waste, the ordinance shall not be rescinded, but the question may again be submitted to a vote at any subsequent election in the
manner herein provided.

(h) In the case of any municipality having a population
greater than thirty thousand persons, as indicated by the most
recent decennial census conducted by the United States, the
governing body of such municipality may by ordinance establish a
materials recovery facility in lieu of or in addition to the
mandatory recycling program required under the provisions of this
section: Provided, That a materials recovery facility shall be
subject to approval by both the Public Service Commission and the
Solid Waste Management Board upon a finding by both the Public
Service Commission and the Solid Waste Management Board that the
establishment of a materials recovery facility will not hinder, and
will be consistent with, the purposes of this article.